I have a shop on Etsy which caters to other doulas, midwives and those in the "childbirth business" ...I have some other items i would like to try to sell that are more in the 'childrens clothing and toys' category....Because these items are so different - would it be a better idea to open a second shop? because the differemt items will really appeal to different shoppers.

You could open a second shop to keep things separate, but then you have two shops to keep organized. It'd be a lot of extra work to create and run. It's easier to just start a new section in your already existing shop.

I don't think your two concepts are so different that they couldn't work in the same shop.

I also think you might want to look at Etsy's policies and terms. I'm not sure if they have rules about how many shops a single person can have.

I'm pretty new to the etsy world, but I've received advice that suggests more diversity and variety in products could mean more business. Your shop will have broader search terms meaning more people will see all of your items.And as the previous poster said, they don't seem to be too different that they wouldn't work in one shop.

I sell jewelry and clothes in my store, and I wanted to start selling fake nails, but thought that I would have them in a seperate store. But many people (myself included) forget that you have to start from scratch again. No followers, no previous views, and especially no feedback. You have to start doing all that hard work all over again, as well as having to sign in and out several times when you want to work between the two shops.

Ive given up on that other shop I had and will now list things in my main shop in hopes that it works better.